The World Cup has lived up to its billing. The standard of football has been scintillating, with only five goalless draws from the opening 48 games. This comes despite highly revered attackers Marco Reus, Falcao and Franck Ribéry, among others, missing the tournament through injury.

Regardless, those in action in Brazil have gone above and beyond to ensure their fellow professionals are not missed in South America, none more so than Lionel Messi. The Argentina captain is our highest rated player (9.2) after the group stages, having dragged La Albiceleste to the round of 16. He scored four of Argentina's six goals, with Marcos Rojo and an own goal from Sead Kolasniac making up the other two.

Messi is the leading goalscorer in the tournament, but he also created more clear-cut goalscoring chances (four) than any other player. While he failed to register an assist, that in part due to poor finishing from his team-mates. Messi won the man of the match award in all three of Argentina’s group games, a feat matched only by Arjen Robben.

Robben was vital to Holland’s progression as Group B winners, providing three goals and one assist, and his rating of 8.95 was the second highest of the group stages. Robben formed a formidable partnership with Robin van Persie in the first two games and it’s little shock to see the Manchester United forward also figuring in this list.

Van Persie, like Robben, also scored three times as the Oranje became the leading goalscorers (10) in the opening three games of the tournament. This came despite the striker missing the last game of Group B due to suspension, so he may have added to his goal tally had he been available to face Chile. Nevertheless, the performances of the duo has Dutch fans believing they can win the World Cup this time around, having lost to Spain 1-0 in South Africa four years ago.

France may well rival Holland as the best European team in the last 16. Karim Benzema has endured his troubles on the international stage and after a shaky start for Real Madrid last season, has proven to be one of the stars of the tournament so far. No player has bettered Benzema’s combined tally of goals and assists (five: three goals and two assists).

His France compatriot Mathieu Valbuena also features in the top 10, having hugely impressed against Honduras and Switzerland. With Didier Deschamps opting against calling up Samir Nasri to the France squad, and Ribéry sidelined for the competition, the pint-sized Marseille star has shouldered the creative responsibility.

Valbuena is one of only 15 players to have both scored a goal and registered an assist in a single game at the competition, something Miralem Pjanic also achieved. The 24-year-old recorded the feat in Bosnia-Herzegovina’s 3-1 win over Iran. The Roma player excelled under Safet Susic despite their early exit, with no player executing more key passes (12) in the group stages than Pjanic. The World Cup will be worse off without the playmaker involved.

While only a handful of European sides remain to vie for glory in Brazil, the South Americans are striving to secure success. James Rodríguez in particular has shone for Colombia. Despite starting from the bench in Colombia’s 4-1 win over Japan, Rodríguez registered two assists and scored late on after coming on as a half-time substitute; his rating of 9.37 was the best of all substitutes in the group stages.

Rodríguez will hope to help Colombia reach the quarter-finals, where they could face Chile and Alexis Sánchez . La Roja have won the adulation of football fans this summer due to their high pressing, counter-attacking game and Sánchez has been key to this, with his directness a huge asset to Jorge Sampaoli’s side. Only Messi (5.7) has averaged more dribbles per game than Sánchez (5.3) and he will need to maximise this quality if they are to overcome Brazil in their last-16 match.

The hosts secured safe passage to the last-16 with relative ease and have both Oscar (8.4) and Neymar (8.39) to thank for that. While Neymar has had his moments of brilliance,Oscar was vital to Brazilin their opening 3-1 win over Croatia. His performance was the highest rated (10.0) of every individual display, while only Daley Blind (nine against Chile) made more tackles in a single group stage match than the Chelsea man (eight against Mexico) to reinforce his credentials on the international stage.

Neymar, meanwhile, has dealt with the weight of expectation on his shoulders. He has scored four goals in three games, but has displayed his defensive ability, having won possession the most times in the attacking third (six) of all players. Despite having the hopes of a nation at his twinkled-toed feet, the 22-year-old has excelled and will play a crucial role if the Seleção are to win their sixth World Cup.

The ball hit the back of the net 136 times in the group stages, an average of 2.83 goals per game, and fans will be hoping the goals continue to flow as we enter the knockout stages of the 2014 World Cup.

The 10 players who have stood out at the World Cup so far. Infographic: WhoScored

All statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com, where you can find yet more stats, including live in-game data and unique player and team ratings.